Pakistani security forces are under a frontal attack by the Taliban and other terror outfits working in a loose syndicate with the al Qaeda.
Even as the government watches the Taliban’s growing clout in Pakistan with concern — aware of its long-term threat to India — the ministry of external affairs is also worried about another challenge: How to keep the focus on 26/11, when the rest of the world, mainly the US, is watching Islamabad take on the militants with its back to the wall?
Pakistani security forces are under a frontal attack by the Taliban and other terror outfits working in a loose syndicate with the al Qaeda. Islamabad can legitimately claim it is a victim of terrorism and is doing its best to fight the menace.
The international community, which needs Pakistani forces to take on the jihadis in Waziristan, will be far more sympathetic to Islamabad and may think that now is not the time to pressure the Pakistani government on India’s concerns.
India’s diplomacy will have to rise to the occasion to ensure that the world does not forget what happened in Mumbai and that unless the establishment in Pakistan stops its “selective approach” on terror groups, the entire region, including the Pakistani state, can collapse.
US under-secretary of state William Burns is on a two-day visit to India. He has already met with external affairs minister SM Krishna and will hold talks with foreign secretary Nirupama Rao. The Indian side will be pushing the point that pressure on Pakistan — to act against the 26/11 perpetrators and other anti-India groups — needs to continue.
For the moment, however, India cannot be seen as whining about Mumbai when the neighbour itself is under attack from the Taliban-al Qaeda forces, who have already declared their intention of turning Pakistan into their version of a strict Islamic republic.
New Delhi will also be under added pressure to renew the stalled peace parleys as a way to strengthen the hands of Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, who has openly supported the Kerry-Lugar bill.
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